Forrestal Village displays furniture and artwork from Manhattan’s St. Regis Hotel.
By: Michael Redmond
Some of the style and glamour long associated with Manhattan’s St. Regis Hotel is available to the public through an informal partnership between Mercer Corporate Interiors (MCI) and Cody Eckert & Associates Architects.
On display in Forrestal Village, where Cody Eckert’s firm is located, is a variety of furniture from the St. Regis that was acquired for liquidation by MCI. Also on display are some choice artworks and photographs selected by Ms. Eckert.
A Midtown landmark, the St. Regis is a jewel of Beaux Arts style on Fifth Avenue, close by Rockefeller Center. The hotel was built by John Jacob Astor in 1904 to capture the luxury and elegance that New York’s "beau monde" had learned to appreciate from their "grand tours" of Europe. Mr. Astor, who went down with The Titanic, sad to say, had given his architects an unlimited expense account, the story goes and they came in over budget.
Today’s St. Regis continues the tradition of opulence with suites featuring Louis XVI-style furnishings, crystal chandeliers, silk wall coverings, marble floors, the works. Afternoon tea is served daily in Astor Court. The hotel’s renowned King Cole Bar, the birthplace of the Bloody Mary, features a mural by Maxfield Parrish. Among the King Cole’s habitués over the decades have been Gertrude Lawrence, Prince Serge Obolensky, Marlene Dietrich, William and "Babe" Paley and Salvador Dali.
According to Judy Caracio of Lawrence, a spokeswoman for MCI, great hotels like the St. Regis like to keep their look fresh, so they tend to replace their furnishings on a regular basis even high-end furnishings like the St. Regis’s signature Louis XVI replicas.
There are a number of such pieces on view at Forrestal Village. These furnishings are in good condition; they certainly don’t look "used." Headquartered in Newark, with a showroom in Lawrence, MCI has a warehouse full of St. Regis stuff. Not to mention furnishings from The Plaza, too, which is in the process of being reborn as half hotel, half residences.
It was Cody Eckert’s idea to stage the windows at Forrestal Village, a location she is proud her firm calls home.
The St. Regis collection has been an easy sell.
"The St. Regis is such a gracious place. And it’s just a pleasure to rescue such exquisite furniture and give it a new home, with people who really appreciate it."
Armoire, anyone?
For more information about viewing and acquiring St. Regis furniture and the Eckert-presented artwork at Forrestal Village, call Cody Eckert & Associates at (609) 716-8500. In business since 1983, the Eckert firm does architecture, planning, interior design, design/build projects, and construction management.